Imperial
Valley farmers put water conservation to work [Imperial Valley Press]
There
is no shortage of Imperial Valley farmers who oppose the Quantification
Settlement Agreement, the nation’s largest agriculture to urban-area water
transfer. Many have challenged its validity in court over the last 10 years.
Brawley farmer Mark Osterkamp is one. And while the court recently upheld the
validity of the agreement after 10 years of lawsuits, accusations and bitter
rhetoric, Osterkamp came to realize some time before that the water
conservation measures at the heart of the transfer are an opportunity for
farmers like him.
City
of Sacramento hires public affairs firm to battle Delta tunnel plan [Sacramento
Bee]
Sacramento
city officials are paying a high-powered political affairs firm $10,000 a month
to communicate the city's opposition to a plan to build two massive water
diversion tunnels in the Delta. City Manager John Shirey's office agreed to an
eight-month contract with Mercury Public Affairs to assist in messaging through
social media, op-ed writing and working with other interest groups that oppose
the plan, said Randi Knott, the city's intergovernmental relations officer. The
contract began this month. The contract was approved through a no-bid process
and without City Council approval because the total compensation will be less
than $100,000, Knott said. If the contract needs to be extended past eight
months – and becomes worth more than $100,000 – city staff will seek City
Council approval for an extension, she said.
Is
safe drinking water in rural Tulare County emerging from red tape? [Fresno Bee]
Chris
Kapheim, the head of Alta Irrigation District, worked a decade on getting fresh
Kings River water for seven northern Tulare County towns where people fear
their tainted tap water. He succeeded in getting the water, but many more years
may pass before people are drinking it. River water needs to be treated before
going to people's taps. But for years, a treatment plant project has been lost
in a bureaucratic Bermuda Triangle. It has been a struggle to even get public
money for a feasibility study.
Millions
spent on water-storage plan that leaks [Associated Press]
More
than two decades ago, two water distributors came up with a tantalizing idea to
increase reserves in parched Southern California: Create an underground lake so
vast it could hold enough to blanket Los Angeles _ all 469 square miles _ under
a foot of water. The reservoir deep within the earth would be injected with
water imported from the snowy Sierra Mountains and other distant sources, which
could be pumped back to the surface when needed to soak avocado and lemon
groves and keep drinking fountains, espresso machines and toilets
gurgling.…David Schwabauer, who tends avocados and lemons on a 750-acre ranch a
short drive from the Las Posas pumps, was bullish on underground storage,
seeing it as a way to guarantee water whenever supplies got
tight…."There's not an hour that goes by that I'm not thinking about
water," said Schwabauer, who served on a local agency that supported Las
Posas. But underground storage is "much more complex, we know today, than
we did in the beginning."
Editorial: Urgency ordinance
for entire Paso basin needed [San Luis Obispo Tribune]
On
Tuesday, the San Luis Obispo County Board of Supervisors has an opportunity to
prevent further decline of the Paso Robles groundwater basin by adopting
temporary land use restrictions. The board is looking at two options: Restrict
growth throughout much of the basin, or apply the ordinance to a limited area
east of Paso Robles, where the biggest aquifer declines have occurred. We
strongly urge board members to put ideological differences aside and act to
protect the entire basin by adopting the more comprehensive ordinance.
Commentary: Agriculture as a
coastal element [Salinas Californian]
We
enjoy a scenic coastline here in Monterey County. From beaches on the Monterey
Peninsula, the golf courses at Pebble Beach, the aquarium on Cannery Row,
trails in Big Sur, and the sand dunes running up to Moss Landing and beyond, we
have a unique mix of recreation, nature, and coastal beauty. Our shores offer a
multitude of opportunities for residents and citizens alike. Part of our
coastal environment also includes a large area of agriculture ... strawberries,
artichokes, and leafy greens growing in our unique climate that makes this area
so great for producing these fresh products. This is very apparent as you drive
north from Marina toward Moss Landing ... you will see fields of fresh fruits
and vegetables along our coastline area. We are indeed lucky that so much local
coastal lands are preserved for food production, and the beauty that these
fields bring to daily travelers along Highway 1. California has regulatory
protections in place for our coastal areas, under the authority of the
California Coastal Commission. Their mission is to ensure there is a balance of
multiple uses for all citizens to enjoy, ranging from recreation and coastal
access to residential and commercial developments to coastal environmental
protection. And agriculture. Yes, food production is one of the protected uses
under the California Coast Act.
Salinas
Californian
Ag
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